This invention relates to the field of fabrics for use as oil absorbents, particularly as oil absorbent mats.
Oil absorbent fabrics are important in the field of oil spill cleanup as in the case of oil booms and absorbents which may be deployed on an oil slick to absorb it. Such fabrics are generally in the form of round or square cross-sectional tubes which wick oil into the structure. Oil absorbent fabrics may also be in the form of a relatively flat fabric for wiping oil coated surfaces to remove the oil from them. Such wipes are usually not abrasive as it is desired to do no damage to the surface being wiped and they also tend to be relatively light in weight. Oil absorbent fabrics may also be used as floor mats to ensure that the working area in, for example, a shop floor does not become slippery and unsafe because of oil containing products spilled in the normal course of work. Cutting oil for metal working and various automotive oils can become quite a slipping hazard for workers if not properly contained. Oil absorbent floor mats must have sufficient abrasion resistance to withstand foot traffic without pilling and tearing.
Various products have been developed for some of these applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,463 to Cotton, commonly assigned, is an example of an oil boom for containing and absorbing oil spills. Many examples of oil absorbent wipes are available such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,904,521 and 5,039,431 to Johnson et al., and Re 31,885 to Meitner, commonly assigned, for meltblown nonwoven wipers and U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,609 to Lamers et al., also commonly assigned, for abrasive webs having meltblown and supporting layers. Also disclosed are aperture abrasive absorbent composite nonwoven wipes such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,854 to Currie et al., also commonly assigned, which shows a multilayer composite fabric having meltblown layers and supporting layers to improve the integrity of the fabric and which may be spunbonded layers.
While a number of prior efforts have tried to address the need for oil absorbent products in various configurations, there remains a need for a relatively inexpensive, abrasion resistant, oil absorbent product for use as floor mats. Such a product would desirably have the added ability to give up its oil in order for the oil to be recycled. Further, the cost of a fabric would be reduced if the need for supporting or carrier layers could be overcome.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an abrasion resistant, oil absorbent floor mat which does not need supporting or carrier layers.